Dominican Hero Priests of Memphis

Dominicans have always been on the forefront of serving the Church – even in the the most dangerous situations.

In 1849, barely a decade after the founding of St. Peter Church, epidemics of cholera and smallpox devastated Memphis much more so than in neighboring Nashville. Fr. James H. Clarkson, O.P., Pastor of St. Peter Catholic Church, ministered to the sick and dying. He himself became a victim of the disease in August of 1849. Fr. Thomas Grace, O.P., succeeded him as Pastor, serving Memphis for 10 years before becoming the second bishop of the Diocese of St. Paul in Minnesota.

In 1855, the yellow fever epidemic struck Memphis. The low-lying swamps surrounding the city were ideal breeding places for the mosquitoes that carried the disease. That factor, combined with the flow of traffic upstream from New Orleans where yellow fever frequently occurred, made Memphis residents vulnerable.

A contemporary Dominican of St. Agnes Academy wrote:

The Sept. Session of ’55 opened with rather a slender attendance, owing to the presence of yellow fever in the City. It made its appearance here the first time during the previous August. Although numbers were reported to have the disease, and many died; yet there was not so much as one inmate of the Academy sick for one hour all the time the fever prevailed in the city. Most, if not all the city schools suspended during the panic created by the exaggerated accounts circulated through the county. Some half dozen of our pupils took fright in consequence and went home, but returned in Nov with a large increase of new scholars. Author unknown, Annals of St. Agnes Academy commencing with the Foundation of the House, ms., Jan.10, 1851, 1, SJP.

Fr. James Raymond Clearly, O.P., was not so fortunate. His missionary activities out of Memphis along the Mississippi weakened him to the point that he could not resist the fever. He died in September 1855, the first Dominican friar, but not the last, to die of yellow fever in Tennessee.

In the waning years of the fifties, prosperity was evident along with change. The dedication of the new St. Peter’s Church in 1858 was indicative of the parishioners’ ability to support the construction of a new building.

Throughout the yellow fever epidemic, the Dominican Friars continued to meet the pastoral needs of Memphis. Where many ministers of other faith traditions evacuated the city for fear of catching the fever, the Friars stayed to ensure even the least of God’s people received the Sacraments and loving care.

Fr. Joseph Augustine Kelly O.P., visiting Memphis as provincial of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph, said this of the new St. Peter Church: “On awakening found myself at the Memphis bluff, it was so high that I looked in vain for the city. E Byrne came down to the boat, with him went up to the church. . . . The new church is really a magnificent affair, it is 150 feet long, 60 wide, transept eighty; it is plastered on the outside in imitation of stone.” Kelly Diary, III, Jan.22, 1859.

He went on to say this of Memphis: “It seems to me that Memphis is, beyond a doubt the finest place the Order possesses in this country, and presents the best opening for future success. Once I did not think so but I am convinced of it now from ocular demonstration.” Kelly Diary, Feb.5, 1859.

Fr. Kelly would eventually become Pastor of St. Peter Catholic Church in 1863 and live to see much of his vision come to fruition personally.

1873 would see yet another yellow fever epidemic. This one claimed the lives of Frs. George Raymond Dailey, O. P., Bartholomew Vincent Carey, O. P., Dennis Augustine O’Brien, O. P., all Parochial Vicars of St. Peter Church, and Fr. John Dominic Sheehy, O. P., who was stationed elsewhere but begged to come to Memphis when he heard that all the priests were victims.

Fr. Kelly was stricken but survived. By becoming immune, he was able to assume a truly heroic leadership role in the epidemics of 1878 and 1879. Letters and telegrams in the archives reveal him as almost a one-man Red Cross Society. One account has Fr. Kelly smuggling orphans out of harms way. Both the City of Memphis and State of Tennessee feared anyone with yellow fever spreading the disease. And so, officials quarantined the city. But Fr. Kelly, knowing the orphans would get sick if they stayed, ran them past police blockades with the help of a few officers who were loyal to Fr. Kelly’s cause.

Three other Dominican Friars died in the epidemic of 1878 and a fourth in 1879: Frs. John Raymond McGarvey, O. P., John Albert Bokel, O. P., Patrick Joseph Scannell, O. P., and Dalmatius Reville, O. P. Like Fr. Sheehy in 1873, Father Scannell volunteered from Louisville, Kentucky when the Memphis priests became ill. He begged on his knees to be given the assignment. These yellow fever victims of 1873, 1878, and 1879 are buried on Priests’ Mound in Calvary Cemetery.

Fr. Clarkson, of the cholera/smallpox epidemic, and Fr. Clearly of the first yellow fever epidemic, are buried under the sanctuary of St. Peter Catholic Church!

One of the closest friends of the Dominican Friars during that time was Sam Henderson, an African American who went by the nickname “St. Peter’s Sam.” Originally he was a protestant minister who listened to the Friars homilies and would rework them for his own congregation. Eventually he converted to Catholicism and worked for the parish as a janitor. His self-appointed duty was to protect the Friars who went out at night to anoint people.

Although the Friars would insist Sam not go out for fear of him contracting yellow fever or being attacked at night, Sam would venture out against the Friars’ will. Even if he at first seemed to obey the Friars’ wishes, the Friars would get several blocks down the road only to turn back and see Sam, their faithful guardian, coming up behind them with his lantern.

Ironically, many of the Friars who feared for Sam’s health died of yellow fever. Yet, St. Peter’s Sam continued to serve the parish and the Friars until his own death on February 13, 1907, at the age of 80! His Solemn High Requiem Mass was celebrated at the high altar of St. Peter Church. And eight Dominican Friars served as his pall bearers. His place of rest can be venerated at Calvary Cemetery, Memphis, TN.

These are just a few of the many heroic stories of the Dominican Friars and their legacy in Memphis.

Excerpts arranged and adaptations written by Fr. Augustine DeArmond, O.P., and taken from from:

DOMINICANS AT HOME IN A YOUNG NATION, Vol. I, Ch. 9: FOUNDING THE CHURCH IN TENNESSEE, by Loretta Petit, Ph.D., Project OPUS.

Personal diaries of Fr. Joseph Augustine Kelly, O.P.

Presentation of Fr. John Vidmar, O.P., at St. Peter Catholic Church, June 28, 2015.

The writings of Charles E. Pool, under the auspices of St. Peter Church, 1984.

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We are the Dominican Friars of Memphis, part of the worldwide Order of Preachers founded in 1216. We have continuously served Memphis since 1845. We are part of the Province of Saint Martin de Porres in the Order of Friars Preachers serving the Southern United States.

This vocations website is part of our community’s Holy Preaching – inspiring others via spoken and written word to answer God’s call to be a priest, brother or friar.